Umami Mart

Whenever I visit my hometown, Cupertino, CA (home of the beloved Macintosh computer), the first thing that I do, before I even go home, is stop off at Sushi Kuni Restaurant. In my five years in NY, I haven’t found a place that compares to the comfort, the authenticity (I hate to say that word, […]

Sometimes, staying in on a Saturday night is the absolute best option for dinner. This is exactly what we did yesterday. The evening started out with a visit to Life grocery store in Hatagaya – nothing fancy – kind of like an Albertson’s. My boyfriend Washi who is Japanese, made… surprise: Japanese curry. Me being […]

$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Prologue$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 1 & 2$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 3, 4 & 5$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 6 & 7$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Midway Meditation Friday 3/30 Total Spent: $0 LUNCH–> $0 i boiled some penne in the morning and married it with some of the puttanesca that […]

Lunch during the workweek has never struck me as an opportunity for a truly enjoyable eating experience — especially working in midtown! But I went to ISE for the first time in a couple months and you know what, I think this place might have the best ramen in NYC that I’ve tasted so far. […]

Honestly, there’s nothing better than waking up late in the morning with your honey and spontaneously going to Jindaiji – a charming little town in Western Tokyo famous for soba (buckwheat noodles). I realize that this is way after the fact (we went a month ago), but that is the downside of waiting until your […]

(Editor’s note: This post was co-written by Aya and Tmonkey. All opinions and typos are theirs.) Aya: I am always hungry. But Tmonkey, you are always always hungry. What’s up with your metabolism? Tmonkey: I burn a lot of chi doing kung-fu. Also my massive brain controlled by alien maggots requires about 3 times more […]

$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Prologue$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 1 & 2$100/ 2 Weeks/ NYC: Day 3, 4 &5Wednesday 3/28 Total Spent: $5 LUNCH–> $0 Fumiko and I had our usual lunch date. I had leftover pasta alla puttanesca, she had made this absolutely delicious spaghetti bathed in cream sauce with artichokes. She says this […]

I am so lucky I get to see Kayoko everyday, so I can laugh at her for already blowing half her budget for the $100/2weeks. For lunch I brought leftovers from last night’s dinner and shared them with her — since she is starving this week and all. It’s a fun and easy recipe, and […]

This is not me, it’s a quote from Michael Ruhlman’s blog post about Yakitori Totto, which was recommended to him by none other than his good buddy and best chef in the world, Thomas Keller. He gushes uncontrollably about the chicken here. Can anyone back this up? I want to go there now for many […]

after years of longing from afar, i finally made it into Sugiyama last week for Japanese Restaurant Week– a restaurant that has been around for quite some time here in New York in Midtown West (at least 10 years maybe?). Ruth Reichl gave it 3 stars in 1999, but i would hands down give it […]